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Here is a reprint of the plastic baby bottle article from our Baby 411 book.

Q. Are plastic baby bottles safe? I’ve heard they release harmful chemicals.

Psst! Hey, buddy! Want to buy a baby bottle?

No, we’re not making this up: in San Francisco, selling a plastic baby bottle could someday bring you a $1000 fine and six months in jail.

What’s all the fuss about?

Clear plastic baby bottles (as well as some food containers and water bottles) are made of polycarbonate, which contains a chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA). It is the BPA that makes the hard, clear plastic bottles . . . well, hard and clear.

So why did San Francisco ban polycarbonate baby bottles in 2006? Well, BPA’s chemical bond with polycarbonate breaks down over time, especially with repeated washing or heating of the bottle. As a result, BPA leaches out of the plastic and ends up in the liquid—that is, the breast milk or formula.

As you can imagine, there are some potentially serious health concerns here. BPA may mimic the natural female sex hormone, estradiol. While most data about BPA comes from animal research, these studies show even low level exposure of BPA may be linked to everything from early puberty and breast cancer, to attention and developmental problems.

Yet, like many other environmental health issues, we don’t know all the answers about BPA—the research is evolving . . . and contradictory. A 2003 study of BPA linked huge doses of the chemical to chromosomal abnormalities in mice. But there have been no studies to prove these chemicals cause any harm to humans.

Adding fuel to the baby bottle debate was the recent release of a study by the Environment California Research and Policy Center, a left-leaning advocacy group. The center independently tested the best-selling clear, hard, plastic baby bottles (Avent, Dr. Brown, Evenflo, Gerber, Playtex). All of them leached between 5-10 ppb (parts per billion) of BPA. These levels are higher than those known to cause health problems in animal studies.²⁵ This report, however, contradicts an earlier scientific study that did not find levels of BPA leaching from baby bottles that exceeded EPA standards.²⁶

And even Europe has backed away from calling BPA harmful—the European Union’s Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently released a report that reaffirmed BPA’s safety. The same report criticized the methodology of the rodent/BPA studies as unreliable.²⁷ Even San Francisco has had second-thoughts about its bottle ban: the city repealed law in April 2007 and instead called for more testing. But, the city vowed to reconsider the ban if the California state legislature doesn’t take up the issue this year.

Meanwhile, the lawyers have joined the fray—baby product manufacturers and retailers have sued San Francisco, saying the ban is unnecessary. And other lawyers have filed a class action lawsuit against bottle makers that use BPA. For the record, bottle makers like Avent dispute the notion that BPA-containing bottles pose any health risk.

When we will find out if BPA (and poly-carbonate) baby bottles are a danger? Well, the National Institute of Health/National Toxicology Program has assigned an independent panel to evaluate the rising concerns of BPA—answers may be forthcoming later in 2007.²⁸ We’ll keep you posted on the results of this study on our Baby 411 blog and E-newsletter. Be sure to sign up for it at our website, baby411.com.²⁹

So what’s the take-home message for the time being? Until we get more definitive answers about their safety, we do NOT recommend using polycarbonate (hard, clear plastic) baby bottles.

What if you’ve already bought $100 worth of Avent bottles? We suggest replacing them with BPA-free alternatives (see below). 

If you want to avoid BPA altogether, you have several options:

• Use glass bottles. Obviously, there is a risk of injury to baby or mom if the bottle is dropped, so glass isn’t a perfect alternative.

• Use bottles made of opaque plastic. These bottles (made of polyethylene or polypropylene) do not contain BPA. (Note polycarbonate-containing bottles have a #7 on their recycling label).

• Consider a BPA-free plastic bottle. Born Free makes a BPA-free clear plastic bottle (Newbornfree.com) sold at Whole Foods. But these cost about $10 each, twice the price of Avent bottles.

• Use a drop-in system. For example the Playtex Drop-in System is BPA free (that is, the bottle liners do not contain BPA).

• Avoid store-bought baby food in metal or plastic containers.